A private pilot avoided a nasty accident after one of his plane’s wheels broke while he was landing at Perth Airport.
The 54-year-old pilot, who had nearly 3,000 hours of flying experience, at first believed he had a puncture as he attempted to land after an uneventful flight.
However, part of his landing gear failed.
A report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch of the Department for Transport, analyzing the crash, has been released.
The report said of the May 24 incident: “During the ground roll the pilot reported hearing a loud ‘dink’ and a metallic noise followed by severe nosewheel shimmy.
“Believing that he had a puncture, the pilot held the control column in the aft position to unload the nosewheel.
“However, he then heard a loud scraping noise from the area of the nose-wheel and so shut the engine down.”
The unnamed pilot attempted to pull the nose of the plane back up as he descended, so he would be able to ensure the wheels had properly unloaded. But the damage had already occurred, so he shut the engine down and let the plane come to a natural stop.
The plane, a Tri Kis, is a small, home-built aircraft intended for private use and was manufactured in 2000.
And while the pilot, who held a private license, had only flown for five hours in the 28 days leading up to the crash, he had 2,628 hours of flying experience. This included 127 hours in a Tri Kis.
The report claimed the pilot carried out a normal approach in light wind on the day and the incident occurred because of fatigue failure in one of the gear legs.
“The owner and the maintenance organization that examined the landing gear leg reported visual evidence of a fatigue failure,” the report added.
“The event occurred as a result of the failure of one side of the fork on the nose landing gear leg.”
There was damage to the leg assembly and propellers and, because the engine was shut down suddenly, an intense and sudden force was placed on its components — a situation known as shock-loading — which caused damage to them, too.
There were no passengers on board and the pilot was not injured.
- Source: http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk
Following an uneventful flight, the pilot carried out a normal approach and landing on Runway 23 at Perth Airport; the wind was described as light. During the ground roll the pilot reported hearing a loud ‘dink’ and a metallic noise followed by severe nosewheel shimmy. Believing that he had a puncture, the pilot held the control column in the aft position to unload the nosewheel. However he then heard a loud scrapping noise from the area of the nosewheel and so shut the engine down. The aircraft came to a halt on the runway resting on two of the three propeller blades. The pilot transmitted an emergency call before vacating the aircraft. The airfield emergency vehicle attended.
The event occurred as a result of the failure of one side of the fork on the nose landing gear leg. The owner and the maintenance organization that examined the landing gear leg reported visual evidence of a fatigue failure. Neither the AAIB nor the Light Aircraft Association had the opportunity to inspect the leg before it was repaired.
Accident Report: http://www.aaib.gov.uk
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